In Hangzhou, China, the 2025 Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS) reached its climax at the season’s opening international event: Champions Clash, April 18–20 at the Hangzhou Esports Center. The world’s number eight teams arrived to compete for regional pride and a ticket to the Midseason Championship, and fans enjoyed three days of action-packed Overwatch that ended in Crazy Raccoon’s triumphant path to the championship.
A Global Showdown
The Champions Clash brought together the number one and two finishers of each OWCS region: North America, EMEA, Asia, and China. The double-elimination bracket ensured a highly competitive turnout. From the big names such as Spacestation Gaming and Virtus.pro, to the newcomers such as NTMR and Once Again, there was something to prove for every single team across the world.
But everyone’s eyes were glued to two giants: Crazy Raccoon and Team Falcons. Their on-court rivalry, which had already been quite intense based on previous performances, took center stage once more.
The Grand Finals: Crazy Raccoon vs. Team Falcons
The final between Team Falcons and Crazy Raccoon was a classic encounter. A rematch from their past rivalry. The Flacons were ready, having defeated regional favorites and vengeance-seeking groups alike. But Crazy Raccoon, with the devastating DPS duo Lip and Stalker, and the ever-clutch support plays of Shu, was ready.
In a nail-biting 4–2 thriller, Crazy Raccoon claimed victory and etched their name in the OWCS history books as the first-ever worldwide 2025 champions.
Overwatch enthusiast and OWCS viewer, reacting to Falcons’ says, “Proper is turning water into wine.”
Key Takeaways
Hero Bans Shake Up the Meta
Another benefit of the 2025 OWCS format, map-by-map hero bans forced teams to think on their feet. It created new counterplay possibilities and made compositions more diverse, opening up old metas wide open. Get ready to witness this innovation become a norm in future tournaments.
“While Falcons quickly struck back on Push map Runasapi (85.17 m- 133.25 m), the Racoons went undefeated for the remainder of the series, winning on Route 66 (3-2), Esperança (125.3 m- 68.96 m) and Circuit Royal (4-3),” says esports insider, an article recounting the scores and gameplay.
Stars Are Born
This tournament wasn’t just a win for Crazy Raccoon; it was a coming-out party for players like:
Lip (CR) – Lord of mid-fight chaos and flanks.
Shu (CR) – Perhaps the world’s top flex support currently.
Proper (Falcons) – Remains the standard by which others are measured in terms of carry potential.
NTMR (NA) – Dark horse candidate that caused shockwaves, defying the odds with a deep tournament run and showing NA still has what it takes to compete with the best.
Even with North America and EMEA showing promise, Asia remained on top. With two Asian teams playing in the grand final, the game’s strength has temporarily moved firmly East.
What’s Next for OWCS?
With Champions Clash done, teams are now concentrating on Stage 2, as they battle for seeding and qualification to the Riyadh Midseason Championship. The levels keep rising higher, with honor, prize money, and regional bragging rights being at stake.
More innovation, co-stream content, and platform drops are the goodies fans can expect as Blizzard doubles down on viewer engagement throughout the OWCS 2025 season.
